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Friday, February 1, 2013

THE REAL STORY WITH TRYING TO VOID AROD'S CONTRACT

Alex Rodriguez certainly is in quite a pickle, he is just another name on the growing list of suspected players to use PEDs. I say suspected because while it may not look good for him right now, the writing isn’t on the wall yet. Sure, the alleged evidence doesn’t look good though. The fact that this is his second offense doesn’t help either. Baseball has a problem, and it is a big one. There are many fans out there that are ready to be rid of ARod, but can the Yankees really void his contract? If not, what could his consequences be instead?

If you do the crime, you do the time. My parents taught me that growing up but maybe these ballplayers that choose to take PEDs didn’t get that same lesson. To be fair, there is no proof that he has taken these drugs but it is also fair to say that a lot of fans have “fallen out of love” with ARod and are ready to see the Yankees cut their ties. It’s hard for fans to watch ARod make boatloads of money each year and not produce….but once your name gets attached to cheating a second time AND this time in pinstripes, it gets hostile in a hurry. There is a lot of talk circulating out in cyberspace about possibly voiding ARod's contract, and a lot of fans are pushing for it. So what COULD happen to ARod?

1. Suspend ARod: Despite the fact that this is his second PED scandal, he has yet to test positive. His 2009 admission of PEDs use while he was with the Texas Rangers came from leaked information that he tested positive during a 2003 survey. ARod does not have to test positive to be suspended. If you read the Joint Drug Agreement HERE it states that he could still be suspended under “just cause.” Of course, we here at BYB aren’t convinced that a suspension is enough, we want Bud Selig to take a firmer stance, read our thoughts on that in PEDs HAS DESTROYED THIS GREAT GAME OF BASEBALL.

2. Release ARod: This is a popular idea too, but it is costly. The Yankees would have to pay out the remaining $270 million, but it is an option. Sure, it hurts the wallet but this could also be considered a moral victory. This huge financial statement would be historic. It would show the baseball world that this would not be tolerated anymore. ARod would be made an example of, and it would show everyone that money isn’t the only thing that talks.

3. Diagnose ARod’s injuries as career ending: If ARod can’t play through the remainder of his contract they would be entitled to an insurance payoff. This would be tricky though because any false information here could lead to future lawsuits. I suppose ARod could seek this option too, but he denies that he is linked to any of these reports so that doesn’t seem likely.

4. Void ARod's contract: Sounds like this is the favorite idea, and logical, right? The Yankees are reportedly looking into this option but it’s not going to be easy. In fact, I would say this is pretty unlikely. If you look at history, it also proves it won’t be easy. The Yankees tried to void Jason Giambi’s contract after the BALCO scandal, and were unsuccessful. The collectively bargained Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program states:

"All authority to discipline Players for violations of the Program shall repose with the Commissioner's Office. No Club may take any disciplinary or adverse action against a Player (including, but not limited to, a fine, suspension, or any adverse action pursuant to a Uniform Player's Contract) because of a Player's violation of the Program."

"Baseball's drug policy was specifically written so that teams can't do things like this," one of the sources said. "You can't use this to try to get out of the last years of a contract."

You can read the rest of this in an article from Wallace Matthews and Andrew Marchand HERE.

Simply stated, the Yankees are the underdog here. Not to mention that the Players Association is going to make this fight even harder. A contract is a legal binding document, we all know that. The problem here is we do not know the verbiage on the contract so it’s all just speculation.

It is going to be difficult to get this contract voided. As much as the Yankees would like to get that money back, a suspension looks like it is more likely. ARod has technically never failed a drug test so under the MLB rules he would be considered a first time offender and receive a 50 game suspension.

That's my take on it. I'm not here to cast any stones. We don't know what's true yet and the truth will eventually come out, but until then we can talk about the possibilities. So what do you think will happen to ARod? Comment and share!